New - To EVERYTHING

Well, in regards to computer audio. I am what you all might call a digital dumb@ss, just so you are aware - so keep that in mind in regards to "technical" terms in your replies (Renderer, Upnp etc). My goal is to play my hi-res audio files (FLAC and ALAC, saved to a thumb drive or can pick up an external drive if it would run and/or sound better) through my home stereo in my living room and be able to browse/change the song/pause/etc without having to get up and walk over to the player that is connected to my AVR. As such, the best option seems to be remote control via my iPhone. For the time being, I want to go coax into my NAD T757 AVR because I have an odd-shaped open floorplan and need to use the Audyssey XT room correction processing in order to accurately integrate my dual sub setup, which are set up diagonal to each other after finding best placement with the "sub crawl." The NAD sounds pretty damn good to me, and that was just using my iPhone as the player before - so it was taking an analog signal in, going back to digital and then back again to analog in order to process with Audyssey - that's how I understand it anyway. My speakers are Martin Logan Motion 40.

Now, I have an Allo DigiOne Signature Player - which is advertised as "plug and play," only, I now know that it means I don't have to manually build or put anything together. There is still some initial setup involved. I went with Moode as the OS that Allo flashed to the included SD card, as it seems to be general consensus that it sounds the best and I'm pretty sure I've read it has equalizer adjustments, which I find necessary with the rock and metal tracks I listen to. Having said that, I have never messed with an RPi before, and I've never seen a Linux-based system, let alone operated one. So my first hurdle will be just getting the damn thing up and running. I've been told to "open a browser and SSH in" to the RPi - I'm not even positive as to what this means. Yes, I am that new/dumb. I haven't tried yet, but my thought is that it means to power the unit on, then open a blank safari page on my iPhone and "tap" into the RPi by typing "http:/moode" into the address bar and hit "go." Is that correct? If so, what should I expect to see next - the Moode UI on my iPhone screen or something else? I've seen that I might need the RPi's IP address - how do I find that? I always have to be reminded how to do this by my IT at my office when they need to remote in to my HP laptop.

MikeyFresh was kind enough to answer a lot of theoretical questions on another forum that has helped me to decide to keep the D1S player and try to figure it out. He sent me the Moode Set-Up guide and suggested I join over here and post further questions (Thanks again Mike!). So, once I "remote in" via my iPhone or my wife's MacBook, will the next steps be self-explanatory? I have it all hooked up and ready to go. I have the RPi connected directly to my router via BJC Cat6 and the Signature to my NAD via a 1.5m SKW coax cable. Should I wait to plug in my little thumb drive that I've saved my music to until Moode is completely set up?

Once I have the D1S Player up and running and I am comfortable with controlling it, I will probably look at adding a second RPi (possibly with the BossDac just to play with it and compare to the Signature through NAD internal DAC) to utilize as the server so that I can use the JRemote to control playback, which I have played with a free trial of on the MacBook. I'll probably just stack this case under or on top of the D1S Player and also connect it directly to my router via Cat6. That's a topic for another time, though.

Thanks in advance for your patience for a total newbie, and I would appreciate any help and pointers that you guys may have for me.
 
So my first hurdle will be just getting the damn thing up and running.

We can definitely make that happen, but lets take one step backwards before going forward.

Did you purchase a fully built player consisting of a Raspberry Pi 3 with the Allo DigiOne Signature "HAT" already installed? This means the Allo piece is already plugged into the RPi3's 40-pin GPIO header, and that hardware is all ready to go, with the Moode application loaded on the microSD card, that card already inserted in the RPi3?

Or, do you have to assemble that yourself and don't know where to start with that process? I ask because it is sold both fully assembled, and also in pieces, and if you have it assembled you are already very close assuming you have 2 power supplies available, one for the RPi3, and another for the D1S.

It sounds like it's already built and ready, with that Ethernet cable connected back to your router. If so, GREAT, you are almost there!

Also do yourself a favor and download the Fing app from the iOS App Store, it makes things easier just by way of sniffing out the IP address your router has assigned to the RPi3. Very useful free tool.
 
I've been told to "open a browser and SSH in" to the RPi

This is incorrect in that while you certainly could SSH into the RPi3, neither do you actually need SSH nor would that happen with a browser.

We'll skip SSH, however we will use any web browser to access the Moode settings. I suggest using your Mac for that, it's a little easier to navigate with that than with the smaller touch interface offered by the iPhone, but either one will work.

If you really want at some point to learn about and use SSH, there is a great piece of freeware called Adafruit Pi Finder that you can use on your Mac for that, but it's entirely unnecessary here unless Allo has done something to lock down Moode's settings via the traditional way of straight web browser access. Hopefully that's not the case (I'll be stunned if it is). Even if it is the case, the only logical reason Allo would do that is to lock down their own correct and pre-configured settings, meaning there would be nothing more you'd need to do there.

Paging @je2a3 I believe you use a DigiOne with Moode if I'm remembering it right?

If so, can you confirm that the Moode settings are indeed available through the browser (no SSH configuration is necessary) and also advise if there is a specific I²S driver in the Configure drop down menu suitable for the DigiOne?
 
Hiya -- I am in negative numbers relative to you when it comes to digital hifi.
Maybe imaginary numbers.
Do they have imaginary numbers in binary?
 
Well our own @je2a3 is apparently indisposed at the present time, but I'm home now and can actually look at the Moode settings menus as opposed to going by memory off the top of my head!

To answer my own question in Post #5 above, yes Moode offers a specific custom I²S driver choice for the Allo DigiOne Signature, and that's the last piece of information needed for lift-off here.

When the OP returns we'll start the count down.
 
Awesome thanks for the replies. I stopped and got a power conditioner/surge protector after work since I needed one more outlet socket anyway. I got the Fing app downloaded to my phone. I’ll see about tackling this after dinner.
 
I got the Fing app downloaded to my phone. I’ll see about tackling this after dinner.

Good deal, enjoy your dinner and then launch the Fing app. Scan your network, you are looking for a device called a Raspberry Pi and once found, jot down the IP address it was assigned by your router.

Should look like this (though I have added custom device names and icons that you haven't), below 10.0.1.24 is a Moode Player:

Screenshot_20190110-194839_Fing.jpg

Launch sequence initialized.
 
T-minus 5 minutes or so...

Enter the IP address you found in Fing into any browser's address bar, and you'll see a Moode interface similar to this:

Screen Shot 2019-01-10 at 8.49.04 PM.jpg

Click that little M found in the upper right-hand corner (the downward facing arrow next to it denotes it's a drop down menu).

Configure -> Audio -> I²S audio device -> Allo DigiOne Signature -> SET

AudConfig.jpg

10... 9... 8...

Configure -> System -> As shown below using the SET buttons to adopt each change made

SysConfig.jpg

7... 6... 5...

Configure -> Sources -> MPD Database -> Auto update MPD Database on USB insert/remove -> Yes -> SET

SourceConfig.jpg

4... 3... 2...1

Insert USB thumb drive of music files into the DigiOne Signature, the library scan will commence, click that Music tab at the bottom/center and you'll see a "spinner" that disappears after the scan is completed. The scan takes longer or shorter depending on how many albums you have, and how fast or slow the controller chip in your USB thumb drive is.

Once the scan is completed, click the Refresh icon (in between the Home and Search icons on the upper left-hand side of the Music tab) and the folder list will update. I can't show that screenshot because I don't use Moode in MPD mode, I use UPnP to connect to a server.

We have liftoff (play some tunes on that DigiOne Signature that you damn near sold without even using)!
 
Mike, this all went perfectly fine until that last screen shot! The “yes” button for Update or regenerate the mpd is not there for some reason. There’s just nothing to select on mine.
Then, I plugged the usb thumb drive in anyway, and all my albums were there, but I got an error code when I tried to play a song from an album I downloaded from HDTracks. It said it couldn’t decode it.
 
So I selected one of my songs that was off of a cd that I ripped, and it showed it playing in playback, but no sound. Then I hit pause, and the whole thing froze. I had to unplug it from power and start over, and it happened again. I tried a third time and gave up for the night. All three times, it appeared to be playing the cd-ripped file, with no sound, and all three times I hit pause and it completely froze Moode.
 
I even tried once from my phone while it was frozen on the MB, and it let me go to configure-system, but that’s the only thing I could get to load.
 
The “yes” button for Update or regenerate the mpd is not there for some reason. There’s just nothing to select on mine.

You lost me. The Yes button does not pertain to Update and Regenerate above it, it specifically says it pertains to Auto update MPD database on USB insert/remove. That's all. But you are saying it isn't there?

Read the instruction for that screen shot. It doesn't say anything about using Update or Regenerate, there's no instruction other than set the slider to Yes for Auto Update on USB insert/remove, however if it's not there then you can't do it.

If that had been done, the only remaining step left was to insert the USB thumb drive and patiently wait while the library is scanned. I also commented that the scan will take a varying amount of time, depending on how large your library is and how fast the USB controller chip in the thumb drive is.

However, if you ignored that and started clicking around while the scan was in progress, all bets are off because I can't imagine what else was clicked, what other settings were potentially changed, and whether or not you ever actually observed the scan in progress or eventually noted the spinner had stopped (meaning it was done).

That whole thing isn't optional, nor is it unique to Moode, everything including iTunes has to first build the library before you can access it. No, you can't start trying to play music, search folders, change other settings, or anything else while the scan is in progress. I'm betting the freezes were because the scan was incomplete, you can't do anything while the scan is in progress, least of all play music.

Also, if at ANY point during the process a ribbon notification appeared saying a setting change was accepted, but required a reboot, guess what? You need to reboot. I can't give you those as play-by-play because I'm not starting from scratch, my instance of Moode was built and configured a long time ago. However a new install might have needed a reboot somewhere during the configuration. Did you ever see that message appear and if so did you reboot?

Then, after that spinner finishes indicating the library scan is done, the final step is to create the folders as my post indicates, using the Refresh button as described on the Music tab in between the little Home and Search icons, but I did not provide a screen shot of that because I can't. I don't use Moode in MPD mode (though thousands of people do and it is known to work).

So I'd say you have an incomplete/corrupted/non-working library that needs to be redone. The original configuration settings as I'm sure you will agree are trivial, just a few clicks, nothing there to get hung up on.

But you have to pay attention to any ribbon notifications served, reboot where instructed to do so, and don't just click around during a library scan. Leave it alone until that's done and complete the final folder creation step also allowing that to process and complete too.

If you do that there is no reason why it won't play music, but later on today when I'm home again I'll have another look and/or use one of my functioning Moode Players to actually create an MPD database.

Don't worry, this will work, but you have to be methodical on the set-up. I think you jumped the gun while the library creation was incomplete.
 
Hey Mike - yes I meant that the slider button is not there at all. Does this present a problem?

That said, it was at this point (realizing the slider was missing) that I plugged in the usb drive. I never did see the spinner, though. That's why I clicked on music at the bottom (the next step in your instructions after spinner stops) and I found that all of my files showed up on the screen. I assumed that my library was small enough that it was all imported almost instantly. I only have about 3-4GB worth of music on it right now.

When you say reboot, does that mean to unplug the power to the RPi? If so, I did this two different times when it froze on the song playback, but like you said, it may have frozen if it was still scanning the USB - but again, all of my files were on the screen and I never saw a spinner. Could the fact that the last slider button was missing be why I never saw a spinner when I plugged in the USB?

I have a new Coax cable coming that will be delivered today, just to eliminate that. The one I currently have plugged up is a brand new SKW cable though, so I doubt that is the problem. I also double checked connections and playback settings on my NAD, and that appears to all be fine. I guess I need to try plugging my thumb drive into another computer to see if they will play at all, and eliminate that possible issue as well.

Is the spinner multi-colored? If so, the only time it popped up on the screen is when I paused the song playback. If that is the same spinner, it definitely did NOT pop up when I plugged in my USB thumb drive. I would have noticed that for sure.

I will try again this evening after work.
 
Hey Mike - yes I meant that the slider button is not there at all. Does this present a problem?

That said, it was at this point (realizing the slider was missing) that I plugged in the usb drive. I never did see the spinner, though. That's why I clicked on music at the bottom (the next step in your instructions after spinner stops) and I found that all of my files showed up on the screen. I assumed that my library was small enough that it was all imported almost instantly. I only have about 3-4GB worth of music on it right now.

When you say reboot, does that mean to unplug the power to the RPi? If so, I did this two different times when it froze on the song playback, but like you said, it may have frozen if it was still scanning the USB - but again, all of my files were on the screen and I never saw a spinner. Could the fact that the last slider button was missing be why I never saw a spinner when I plugged in the USB?

I have a new Coax cable coming that will be delivered today, just to eliminate that. The one I currently have plugged up is a brand new SKW cable though, so I doubt that is the problem. I also double checked connections and playback settings on my NAD, and that appears to all be fine. I guess I need to try plugging my thumb drive into another computer to see if they will play at all, and eliminate that possible issue as well.

Is the spinner multi-colored? If so, the only time it popped up on the screen is when I paused the song playback. If that is the same spinner, it definitely did NOT pop up when I plugged in my USB thumb drive. I would have noticed that for sure.

I will try again this evening after work.

No the spinner is just a small rotating icon, I can't remember if it's actually on the Music tab itself or on the folder list to the left-hand side where a new music source called USB would appear. I think it's right at the bottom in the Music tab itself. That USB source only appears on the left side folder list at the end, when that folder creation takes place if I'm not mistaken.

Again, what you are doing here is a completely different mode of operation (MPD) than what I use. So I can't just recall off the top of my head what everything looks like as in some cases I've never seen it before, or in others it could have been months or even years ago, and on Moode versions as early as v2.7. We are now at v4.4, so what I think I remember something looks like is largely irrelevant as it probably has changed somewhat as the UI evolved over time, so it makes little sense for me to try to describe exactly what it looks like.

I just found my Raspberry Pi Zero W in the front zipper pocket of my laptop bag, so I'll be able to double check all of this at lunch time, even though I'm not at home.

Moode is that robust, I will connect it to my work LAN, sniff the IP with Fing, dial into the unit with a browser, stick a thumb drive in it, scan some tracks, and play them. Perhaps I missed a setting unique to MPD, very possible since I don't actually use MPD and only ever very briefly did so several years ago.

Assuming that works, the last remaining variable is my use of a USB DAC, while you are using an I²S - SPDIF adapter HAT for output. That part I can't recreate, however that too is known to work, it will work for you as well unless your sample of the D1S is defective which I doubt.
 
I’m actually going to run home at lunch as well and try again. So when it prompts a “reboot,” does that just mean pull the power plug(s)? I mean there’s no power button or anything.

And again it recognized the usb device, the “music” file on the device and then all of my albums. It even appeared to play a song. But, I suppose it could be I didn’t see the spinner so maybe it was still processing. Every album title was already displayed by the time I tried to play a song, though. I will try to take screen shots this next time.
 
I’m actually going to run home at lunch as well and try again. So when it prompts a “reboot,” does that just mean pull the power plug(s)? I mean there’s no power button or anything.

Nope, under the M drop down menu in the upper right hand corner there is an option for Restart, and then a choice of Shutdown or Reboot.

FYI, the scan is just as I described, the spinner is seen in the Music tab itself at the bottom of that screen. To re-initiate this you will need to use that button that says Re-Gen MPD database.

Also, I do see one other setting unique to MPD for you to check on, and you should probably do that first as it may solve everything if your library is indeed there and not corrupted. So try this first before anything else:

Configure -> Audio -> MPD -> Options -> Edit Settings -> Audio Device -> I²S ->APPLY

The last I²S bit in that string is what I can't confirm, because I don't have any I²S device connected, so it won't show that as an option. By the same token, your drop down there should not show USB as an option, because you have no USB audio output device connected.

That menu will always show On-board audio device as an option, that's the RPi3's 3.5mm analog jack and it's always there because you can't remove it. That is likely pre-selected, switch it to I²S and then last night's dud lift-off should be corrected unless the library needs a re-scan.

If your library is not corrupt, the above setting is the last thing I can think of other than the software volume control possibly being turned all the way down, that too would cause no sound and that's easily fixed.
 
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